OTTAWA – The Federal Court has thrown out Ottawa’s attempts to appeal a couple of rulings on the provision of services and compensation to First Nations children.
In September 2019, the Canadian Court of Human Rights ruled that Ottawa failed to adequately fund services for children and families, resulting in “willful and reckless” discrimination against Indigenous children living on reservations.
He ordered the federal government to pay $ 40,000 each to about 50,000 First Nations children, as well as their families, but the Liberal government appealed the ruling.
The second legal battle stems from a separate ruling in November 2020 that expanded the scope of the Jordan Principle, which is a rule that states that when there is a jurisdictional disagreement over which level of government should provide a service to the children of the First Nations, Ottawa takes responsibility.
“No one can seriously doubt that First Nations people are among the most disadvantaged and marginalized members of Canadian society,” Judge Paul Favel wrote in his decision published Wednesday. “The Court was aware of this and reasonably tried to remedy the discrimination while being attentive to the very different positions of the parties.”
Favel concluded that the government was unable to establish that any of the court’s decisions were reasonable.
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“In my opinion, the procedural history of this case has shown that there is, and has been, good will that has resulted in significant moves to remedy this unprecedented discrimination. However, the good work of the parties is unfinished,” he wrote Favel.
“The parties must decide whether they will continue to sit by the side of the road or carry on in this spirit of reconciliation.”
Cindy Blackstock, executive director of Canada’s First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, which is one of the parties fighting for indigenous children to be compensated, says court reviews launched by Ottawa pointed directly to central calls to action. of Truth and Reconciliation. Canadian Commission on Child Welfare and the Jordan Principle.
“This is the time for Canadians, with the first National Truth and Reconciliation Day tomorrow and knowing that these are some of the main calls to action, to get in touch with their elected officials and say ‘get down the sword'”.
“They have been fighting in this case against First Nations children for equitable services and their families for help in recovering from the trauma of residential school for now 14 and a half years … the Canadian people are now in a place where wants to see the TRC calls to action made “.
The Federal Court has thrown out Ottawa’s attempts to appeal a couple of rulings on the provision of services and compensation to First Nations children. #First nations #Indigenous rights
Opposition parties and indigenous leaders have criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to fight both rulings, saying that is not the appropriate course of action for a government committed to reconciliation.
“Today was an absolute victory for the First Nations children. For six years, Justin Trudeau spent millions fighting for the rights of indigenous children and trying to overturn a ruling that found his government guilty of “willful and reckless” discrimination against vulnerable indigenous children. The court has dismissed his case, “NDP MP Charlie Angus said in a statement Wednesday.
He called on the government to immediately end its legal battle on the matter and focus on closing funding gaps and chronic denial of services to First Nations children.
“As tomorrow is the first National Truth and Reconciliation Day, it is imperative that the federal government finally take clear steps toward truth, justice and reconciliation for all of Canada’s indigenous peoples,” he wrote.
This Canadian Press report was first published on September 29, 2021.
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com